I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3729 To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien children, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 11, 2019 Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Home- land Security, Appropriations, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien children, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Trafficking Vic- 4 tims Protection and Welfare Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3729 IH (1) APPREHENDED PARENT OR LEGAL GUARD- 1 IAN.—The term ‘‘apprehended parent or legal 2 guardian’’ means an individual who is— 3 (A) the parent or legal guardian of a child; 4 and 5 (B) apprehended by the Secretary of 6 Homeland Security or the personnel of a co- 7 operating entity. 8 (2) BORDER.—The term ‘‘border’’ means an 9 international border of the United States. 10 (3) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi- 11 vidual who— 12 (A) has not reached the age of 18 years; 13 and 14 (B) has no permanent immigration status 15 in the United States. 16 (4) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONAL.—The 17 term ‘‘child welfare professional’’ means an indi- 18 vidual who— 19 (A) is licensed in social work by the State 20 welfare agency, and, if applicable, country wel- 21 fare agency, of the State and county in which 22 is located the port of entry or Border Patrol 23 station at which such individual is available 24 pursuant to section 3; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3729 IH (B) has direct experience working with 1 children; and 2 (C) is proficient in 1 or more of the most 3 common languages spoken by children appre- 4 hended at the border concerned. 5 (5) COOPERATING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cooper- 6 ating entity’’ means a State or local entity acting 7 pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary of 8 Homeland Security. 9 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 10 means the Department of Homeland Security. 11 (7) EXPERT IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT.—The 12 term ‘‘expert in child development’’ means an indi- 13 vidual who has significant education and expertise 14 on infant, child, and adolescent development, and on 15 the effects of trauma on children. 16 (8) EXPERT IN CHILD WELFARE.—The term 17 ‘‘expert in child welfare’’ means an individual who 18 has— 19 (A) knowledge of Federal and State child 20 welfare laws and standards; and 21 (B) not less than fifteen years of experi- 22 ence in the field of child and adolescent devel- 23 opment or child welfare. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3729 IH (9) EXPERT IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.—The 1 term ‘‘expert in pediatric medicine’’ means— 2 (A) an individual qualified to practice pedi- 3 atric medicine in 1 or more States; or 4 (B) an individual with an advanced degree 5 in pediatric medicine on the faculty of an insti- 6 tution of higher education in the United States. 7 (10) MIGRATION DETERRENCE PROGRAM.—The 8 term ‘‘migration deterrence program’’ means an ac- 9 tion relating to the repatriation or referral for pros- 10 ecution of 1 or more individuals apprehended by the 11 Secretary of Homeland Security or a cooperating en- 12 tity for a suspected or confirmed violation of the Im- 13 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 14 seq.). 15 (11) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The 16 term ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning 17 given the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland 18 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)). 19 SEC. 3. CHILD WELFARE AT THE BORDER. 20 (a) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 21 rity, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 22 Human Services, experts in child development, experts in 23 child welfare, experts in pediatric medicine, and the Amer- 24 ican Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3729 IH shall develop guidelines for the treatment of children in 1 the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection by 2 all personnel who come into contact with such children in 3 the relevant legal authorities, policies, practices, and pro- 4 cedures pertaining to this vulnerable population. 5 (b) MANDATORY TRAINING.—The Secretary of 6 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 7 Health and Human Services, shall— 8 (1) require all U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 9 tection personnel, and cooperating entity personnel, 10 who have contact with a child at a port of entry or 11 Border Patrol station to undergo appropriate train- 12 ing, which shall include live training, on the applica- 13 ble legal authorities, policies, practices, and proce- 14 dures relating to children; and 15 (2) require U.S. Customs and Border personnel 16 to undertake periodic and continuing training on 17 best practices and changes in relevant legal authori- 18 ties, policies, and procedures applicable in connection 19 with subsection (a) and paragraph (1). 20 (c) QUALIFIED RESOURCES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with sub- 22 section (d), the Secretary of Homeland Security 23 shall provide resources and staff, including child wel- 24 fare professionals, who are adequately trained and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3729 IH qualified to address the needs of children at each 1 port of entry and Border Patrol station. 2 (2) SUFFICIENT STAFFING.—The Secretary of 3 Homeland Security shall ensure that sufficient quali- 4 fied child welfare professionals and qualified experts 5 in pediatric medicine are available at each port of 6 entry and Border Patrol station to accomplish the 7 duties described in this section without prolonging 8 the time children and apprehended parents and legal 9 guardians remain in the custody of U.S. Customs 10 and Border Protection. 11 (3) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS.—The 12 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 13 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 14 shall hire, or seek to enter into contracts with, inde- 15 pendent child welfare professionals in order to do 16 the following: 17 (A) To provide child welfare expertise on- 18 site on a full-time basis at any port of entry or 19 Border Patrol station that has had not fewer 20 than 25 children in custody— 21 (i) on any day during the preceding 22 fiscal year; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3729 IH (ii) during the current fiscal year, 1 based on a review of monthly statistical re- 2 ports during the current fiscal year. 3 (B) To provide child welfare expertise by 4 telephone on an on-call basis to U.S. Customs 5 and Border Protection staff in any port of 6 entry or Border Patrol station that is not de- 7 scribed in subparagraph (A). 8 (C) With respect to a port of entry or Bor- 9 der Patrol station that is described in subpara- 10 graph (A) but is without on-site expertise as re- 11 quired by such subparagraph during a period of 12 not more than 90 days in which the Secretary 13 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 14 Secretary of Health and Human Services, is in 15 the process of hiring or seeking to enter into a 16 contract with an onsite independent child wel- 17 fare professional, to provide child welfare exper- 18 tise by telephone on an on-call basis to U.S. 19 Customs and Border Protection staff. 20 (d) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS AND EXPERTS 21 IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 23 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 24 Health and Human Services, shall ensure that 1 or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3729 IH more qualified child welfare professionals with exper- 1 tise in culturally competent, trauma-centered, and 2 developmentally appropriate interviewing skills and 1 3 or more qualified experts in pediatric medicine is 4 available at each port of entry and Border Patrol 5 station. 6 (2) MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS.—Any medical as- 7 sessment of a child in the custody of U.S. Customs 8 and Border Protection shall be done in consultation 9 with an expert in pediatric medicine described in 10 paragraph (1). 11 (3) INTERPRETER REQUIRED.—In a case in 12 which a child welfare professional or an expert in pe- 13 diatric medicine at a port of entry or Border Patrol 14 station does not speak the language of a child in 15 custody at such port of entry or station, the Sec- 16 retary of Homeland Security shall provide an inter- 17 preter. 18 (4) DUTIES.—Child welfare professionals de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 20 (A) ensure that— 21 (i) any allegation of abuse or mis- 22 treatment of a child in the custody of U.S. 23 Customs and Border Protection is referred 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3729 IH to the appropriate Federal and State au- 1 thorities; and 2 (ii) the Commissioner of U.S. Cus- 3 toms and Border Protection and the Direc- 4 tor of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 5 comply with applicable child abuse report- 6 ing laws, including by— 7 (I) ensuring that children in such 8 custody have access to applicable com- 9 plaint mechanisms to report abuse or 10 misconduct; 11 (II) reporting any allegation of 12 abuse or mistreatment to— 13 (aa) the applicable Federal 14 and State authorities; 15 (bb) the Office of Inspector 16 General of the Department; 17 (cc) the Office for Civil 18 Rights and Civil Liberties of the 19 Department; 20 (dd) the Internal Affairs Of- 21 fice of U.S. Customs and Border 22 Protection; and 23 (ee) the Office of Refugee 24 Resettlement; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3729 IH (III) providing notice to federally 1 subcontracted legal service providers 2 in the applicable geographical area 3 with respect to any child in such cus- 4 tody who has made an allegation of 5 abuse or mistreatment; and 6 (IV) directing the legal service 7 providers described in subclause (III) 8 to relevant information relating to the 9 availability of immigration and admin- 10 istrative relief for individuals with 11 pending civil rights complaints; 12 (B) conduct screening of each child in such 13 custody in accordance with section 235(a)(4) of 14 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 15 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 16 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)); 17 (C) with respect to a child who may meet 18 the notification and transfer requirements 19 under subsections (a) and (b) of section 235 of 20 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 21 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 22 U.S.C. 1232), including a child for whom a de- 23 termination cannot be made, notify the Sec- 24 retary of Homeland Security and the Director 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3729 IH of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the 1 presence of such child at the port of entry or 2 Border Patrol station; 3 (D) provide to the Director of U.S. Immi- 4 gration and Customs Enforcement a best inter- 5 est placement recommendation for each accom- 6 panied child and family that— 7 (i) considers— 8 (I) the best interests of the child; 9 and 10 (II) applicable law; and 11 (ii) favors a policy of release; 12 (E) interview any adult relative accom- 13 panying a child, including siblings, grand- 14 parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; 15 (F) for each unaccompanied alien child in 16 such custody, provide to the Director of the Of- 17 fice of Refugee Resettlement— 18 (i) an initial family relationship and 19 trafficking assessment, which shall be con- 20 ducted in accordance with the timeframe 21 under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) of sec- 22 tion 235 of the William Wilberforce Traf- 23 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 24 Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3729 IH (ii) recommendations for the initial 1 placement of the child; 2 (G) pursuant to procedures developed by 3 the Secretary of Homeland Security, maintain 4 the best interests of children in any migration 5 deterrence program for family units carried out 6 at a border, including by— 7 (i) inquiring whether a child is trav- 8 eling with a parent, sibling, legal guardian, 9 or another family member, including a 10 grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin; 11 (ii) ascertaining whether the detention 12 or removal from the United States of an 13 apprehended parent or legal guardian of a 14 child presents a humanitarian concern or a 15 concern relating to the physical safety of 16 the apprehended parent or legal guardian; 17 (iii) in the case of a family separation, 18 ensuring that— 19 (I) each member of the family is 20 provided with a telephone number for 21 each other member of the family; 22 (II) the apprehended parent or 23 legal guardian is afforded the oppor- 24 tunity to speak with the child of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jul 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3729 IH apprehended parent or legal guardian 1 not fewer than 3 times weekly, includ- 2 ing not fewer than 1 video conference; 3 (III) for each child of the appre- 4 hended parent or legal guardian, the 5 apprehended parent or legal guard- 6 ian— 7 (aa) knows— 8 (AA) the location of the 9 child; and 10 (BB) the date and loca- [Text truncated for display. 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